After dinner ministerial speeches – anyone for seconds?

After dinner speeches by government ministers are rarely entertaining. Often they inform, sometimes they challenge but the universal truth is that they are not really there to entertain.

Antony Oliver
16 April 2014

Twitter FacebookLinkedIn

Print

Topics 

International

Infrastructure must therefore consider itself reasonably blessed to have the likes of Paul Deighton and his ministerial shadow Andrew Adonis championing the cause, driving enthusiasm across the supply chain and really working hard to build political and public understanding. 

Both have the ability to bring life and reason to a subject which, ordinarily, is treated by the political classes as simply a means to an end.

Listening to Trade Minister Lord Livingston at last week’s British Expertise International Awards demonstrated that we have another passionate and entertaining advocate. 

As the UK economy picks up pace it is perhaps easy to forget that major parts of the rest of the world are doing similarly, offering the kind of so-called “high value opportunities” that are capable of transforming business models built on decent domestic revenues into world leading success stories.

Perhaps it was Livingston’s depth of understanding of the day to day challenges of running global businesses that gave his delivery edge – he did after all throw up a plum job running telecoms giant BT to work in government. Certainly his background at the sharp end gives a raft of reasons to suppose he knows precisely what he is talking about business wise.

But I also think that it his empathetic and entertaining delivery drew on the fact that he understands the critical role that talented individual people play in the overarching corporate success of businesses. 

Some might say that he gave what the audience wanted to hear. I disagree. I think that Livingston genuinely understands the global opportunities that talented people provide.

Last week he focused attention and recognition on the talented individuals driving UK firms in the professional service sector, particularly in infrastructure, which he said were now a “British success story” that could benefit from a little bit more talking up. 

“I think Britain has become the can do country,” he said. “People want to do business with the UK and they have got huge infrastructure projects [to deliver]. They see key UK skills in design and build, in project management, in sustainable development and see that we are a world leader.”

The UK he said, is no longer seen as a “sick country or a country stuck in the past” but is viewed by clients and partners across the globe as “a creative, innovative, vibrant economy - a quality product”.

UK design and engineering firms must build on this fact. As the UK economy picks up pace it is perhaps easy to forget that major parts of the rest of the world are doing similarly, offering the kind of so-called “high value opportunities” that are capable of transforming business models built on decent domestic revenues into world leading success stories.

And there prize is prize worth getting excited about. As Livingston pointed out, professional business services earned £47bn overseas last year, about 10% of the country’s exports, in markets that require significant growth just to stand still. 

Developed and developing nations around the world understand the value of infrastructure investment. Increasingly they, like many of our ministers, also understand the value of UK expertise. 

Antony Oliver is the editor Infrastructrue Intelligence